A group of staffers from a voting rights group in Georgia protested Tuesday outside their office after they said some were unfairly terminated from their positions, a move they suggest could jeopardize organizing efforts ahead of the 2026 statewide elections.
On Jan. 28, staffers said 14 people were laid off from the New Georgia Project, the nonprofit group founded by Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams. The two-time gubernatorial candidate has not been involved with the group since 2017.
Management cited difficult economic circumstances as the reason for the staff reductions during a company call reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The layoffs marked the third time the organization has cut its workforce since the 2024 general election. However, the workers let go on Jan. 28 said they had delivered a petition to unionize four days prior and saw the move as retaliation to discourage them from forming a union.
Representatives of the New Georgia Project did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Workers said the terminations could have a chilling effect on others seeking to unionize and could also impact liberal causes the group supports in upcoming elections.
“This fight is bigger,” said Jon’Luk Young, who was an associate health care organizer at the organization. “We were focused on the 2026 governor’s election. Now, we’re laid off. There’s people out there counting on us.”
Chuck Stiles, an organizer with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said the group has filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. The filing alleges the layoffs violate the rights of employees or unions. Stiles said the Teamsters will move forward with an election among the workers who remain at NGP.
For the last couple years, the New Georgia Project has faced economic and legal challenges.
The organization and an affiliated group, the New Georgia Project Action Fund, settled a lawsuit last month that alleged the group spent money on Abrams’ 2018 gubernatorial campaign without properly disclosing it.
In addition, organizers operated in a much more limited capacity during the 2024 presidential election. Staffers knocked on about 500,000 doors through September, compared to about 3 million in 2022. Four of its executives resigned or were dismissed due to internal strife during a six-month period, Capital B News reported.
Unionizing efforts, too, face uphill battles in Georgia.
Under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, workers have the right to form a union and collectively bargain for wages and working conditions without being fired.
But Georgia has been a right-to-work state since the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947. That means workers are not required to join a union or pay dues, even though they may benefit from contracts negotiated by a union with their employer.
In 2023, just 5.4% of Georgia workers belonged to a union, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
The workers in particular blame Francys Johnson for the problems plaguing the New Georgia Project. The Democratic activist chairs the organization’s board,
“For somebody to come in with their own personal motives and destabilize, that’s just very disheartening,” said the New Georgia Project’s Brandon Byrd, who works with rural communities and is still employed by the organization. “You can’t keep going places and mismanaging funds and coming with your own personal motives and really undermining the good work that people are trying to do.”
Johnson did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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